Good morning! Our gallery is open. Today we feature works of the season, and of the world we live in.
Come on in … and please submit your work, too.
We welcome all kinds of art. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, lithographs, collages, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage, needlepoint — whatever you’ve got.
Email it to 06880blog@gmail.com. Share your work with the world! (PS: Please include the medium you’re working in — art lovers want to know.)
Age, level of experience, subject matter — there are no restrictions. Everyone is invited (no, urged) to contribute.
“To All Our Veterans!” (Karen Weingarten)
“Leaves” (Rowene Weems)
“In Autumn Some Leaves Soar, Others Fall” (Jerry Kuyper)
“Cry havoc! And let loose the dogs of war!” — pencil and watercolor. Artist Steve Stein notes: “Done in the modernist style of Marc Chagall; the quote is from Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar.'”
“The Family Eats Together” (Peter Barlow)
“Perfect Ending” (Ken Runkel)
“Monkshood in a Red Ruby Bottle” — oil on panel (Werner Liepolt)
“Picky, Picky, Picky” (Mike Hibbard)
“Bottoms Up” (Lawrence Weisman)
“Moonrise at Salisbury Beach” (Roseann Spengler)
(Entrance is free to our online art gallery. But please consider a donation! Just click here — and thank you!)
Winners of Tuesday’s election — newcomers and incumbents — will be sworn in on Monday, November 20 (7:30 p.m., Town Hall auditorium).
The public is invited to attend.
Dozens of town officials — including board and commission members, and those on the Representative Town Meeting — will take oaths of office November 20. This is a file photo from 2021. (Photo/Andrew Colabella)
The Westport Library Gift Store is now open, and filled with gifts. It’s located in the writing center adjacent to the Hub on the main floor, alongside the Library Store and Patron Services desk.
There are gifts for readers, writers, and anyone else special: handmade scarves, hats and gloves; puzzles and games; decorative items like unique snow globes; notebooks and journals; toys, art supplies, novelty items for kids, and more.
An added gift: Purchases are tax free. All proceeds support Library services and programs.
High school students were not around in the 1960s. Most of their parents were not, either.
But MoCA Westport is reaching back to that famous decade, while seeking submissions for their 2024 High School Student Art Exhibition.
The theme of the open call is “Through the Lens of Icons: Revisiting the 1960s.” The idea is to “reimagine the ’60s through your creative lens.” Individuals, moments or symbols that hold cultural, political or personal significance are welcome.
Categories include photography, painting, drawing, sculpture and video. Students may submit only one work each.
The deadline is December 1. For more details, including submission guidelines, click here.
President Kennedy, his wife Jackie and Texas Governor John Connolly, moments before the assassination that changed the world.
The “bridge slide” portion of the I-95 project is over.
But construction delays remain.
Long ones.
Last night, Jo Shields Sherman reports, 3 state highway trucks were traveling south, “as fast as 5 miles an hour.” Police vehicles kept pace, preventing any vehicles from passing.
One view of I-95, from the Hillspoint Road bridge …
The view from the other side of the bridge seemed eerie, she says, with not a single vehicle in sight. Here’s what it looked like:
(Photos/Jo Shields Sherman)
By 8:30, traffic was moving well again.
================================================
After a 3-year hiatus, Stephanie Bass returns to the stage.
Westport’s favorite 70something comedian offers her always-hilarious take on life — including getting older, and raising a kid from 5 to adulthood in this wonderful, odd, often (unintentionally) humorous town.
The free show (including both stand-up and storytelling) on November 17 (7 p.m., Westport Library) is presented by students of Verso University’s Stand-Up comedy series. The host is comedian (and course instructor) Mina Hartong.
Staples High School’s November Students of the Month are seniors Dylan Fiore and Dylan Walsh, juniors Will Boberski and Kate Weitz, sophomores Tyler Smalls and Mia Zibly, and freshmen Ishan Pasham and Eliza Wadley.
Students of the Month “help make Staples a welcoming place for their peers and teachers alike. They are the ‘glue’ of the Staples community: the type of kind, cheerful, hard-working, trustworthy students that keep the high school together, making it the special place that it is.”
November Students of the Month (from left): Dylan Walsh, William Boberski, Mia Zibly, Kate Weitz, Eliza Wadley. Not pictured: Dylan Fiore, Ishan Pasham, Tyler Smalls.
The Westport Library’s Big Fall Book Sale is set for 3 weeks before winter: December 1-4.
On sale: thousands of gently used books for children and adults in more than 50 categories, antiquarian books, vinyl records, music CDs, movie and TV DVDs, plus a limited selection of ephemera and artwork, and the “Fiction for $1” room.
Hours are Friday, December 1 (noon to 6 p.m.), Saturday, December 2 (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), Sunday, December 3 (11 a.m. to 5 p.m., nearly everything half price), and Monday, December 4 (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; fill logo bags for $8 or $10).
On December 1 (8:55 a.m. to noon), the book sale is open via an Early Access ticket (click here to buy). For more information, click here.
Can’t make the sale? Visit the nonprofit Westport Book Shop across Jesup Green from the Library, or shop any time on the Book Sale’s Online Store, or eBay.
Westport Library Book Sale.
=================================================
It’s been a few days since Tracy Porosoff sent in this “Westport … Naturally” photo.
Hopefully, these flowers are still hanging on, in her backyard garden.
And finally … if high school students need a prompt to create art for MoCA Westport’s “1960s” exhibition (story above), there are tens of thousands of songs to choose from.
Here are 3:
(“06880” looks back often — and looks to the present and future always. Please help us continue our work. Click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)
“On Tuesday, in an effort sponsored by Temple Israel and the Jewish Federation, a few of us, including my friend Deborah Slade, met to tie blue ribbons around light poles and similar structures in town, to both heighten and maintain awareness of the hostages still being held in Gaza.
“I spent my time tying up the eastbound side of the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge. Someone followed me later on the other side, with ‘kidnapped’ posters. We didn’t work together, but it works well together.
“Blue ribbons will be going up all over town. Anyone who wants to tie one to a tree in their yard can get ribbons from Temple Israel or the Jewish Federation in Bridgeport.
“With all the fighting going on, not just in Israel/Gaz but all over the world, in the streets and on campuses and in coffee shops, we can’t forget the innocents trapped in those tunnels, fighting for their freedom, very possibly fighting for their lives … if indeed they are still living.”
Blue ribbons on the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge. (Photo/Jennifer Wolff)
Just in time for the holidays: Westport’s Department of Human Services’ Giving Program is back.
Donations from community members are a huge help to Westport families facing financial hardship. Dozens of families with school-aged children benefit each year from the program.
This year, rising costs for food, housing and fuel has added strains to many local budgets.
Gift cards and cash donations are matched with families, who then purchase food and simple holiday gifts for their children. Some also buy toiletries, shoes and clothing. Beneficiaries are anonymous.
The program enables parents to personalize their presents, and participate fully in the holiday season.
Residents and organizations can donate cash, checks or gift cards to the “Family to Family Seasonal Holiday Giving Program” online (click here). Contributions can also be dropped off (by appointment) at Town Hall, or mailed to the Department of Human Services c/o Town Hall, 110 Myrtle Avenue, Westport, CT 06880.
Westport residents facing financial difficulties can contact Human Services at 203-341-1050 or humansrv@westportct.gov for confidential assistance.
Westport’s newest stop signs are at the 3-way intersection of Greens Farms Road and New Creek Road (the one that goes underneath I-95, past the train station, and on to Beachside Avenue).
Several “06880” readers were surprised.
The Board of Selectwomen authorized the signs because school buses are now parked at the station. They go in and out often, as cars zoom past on Greens Farms Road.
Or at least, they did zoom.
The new stop signs, looking east. (Photo/Matt Murray)
=================================================
Speaking of speeding (and other broken laws):
Westport Police made 6 custodial arrests between November 1 and 8.
A man was arrested for burglary, and conspiracy to commit burglary, after officers responded to a home security alarm.
A man was arrested for burglary and larceny after police responded to a burglary at Greens Farms Academy, and vandalism at the nearby Greens Farms train station.
A woman was arrested for burglary, after a resident awoke to find someone ransacking her kitchen.
A woman was arrested for following too closely and driving under the influence (marijuana and alcohol), after a motoro vehicle accident on Saugatuck Avenue near the train station.
Two men were arrested on warrants for failure to appear.
Westport Police also issued these citations:
Failure to comply with state traffic commission regulations: 11 citations
Traveling unreasonably fast: 5
Traveling too fast for conditions: 3
Operating a motor vehicle without minimum insurance: 3
Violation in a construction zone: 2
Failure to obey traffic commission signals: 2
Allowing possession of alcohol by a minor: 1
Speeding: 1
Failure to drive in the proper lane: 1
Following too closely: 1
Failure to grant right of way: 1
Operating a motor vehicle under suspension: 1
Operating an unregistered motor vehicle: 1
Illegal use of tinted glass: 1
Improper use of markers: 1
Failure to register a commercial vehicle: 1
Violation of license class: 1
Operating a motorcycle without endorsement: 1
If you ride a motorcycle, you better have the proper endorsement on your license. (Photo/Penny Pearlman)
Over a dozen priceless works of art by Rembrandt, Vermeer and Degas disappeared from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston in the early hours of March 18, 1990.
Just before 2024’s WestportREADS selection “The Art Thief,” by Michael Finkel, comes Westport Library’s “Vanished” program (November 16, 7 p.m).
40 million Americans are food insecure — including 345,000 Connecticut residents.
Yet 30 to 40% of food in America is wasted, and 70% of that food is edible. Food waste is responsible for 8% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the US.
Haley Schulman, from the Fairfield County office of Food Rescue USA, told the Westport Rotary Club this week that donating food is the best way to both feed our communities and protect our planet.
Food Rescue has saved 44 million pounds of food and 33 million meals in Fairfield County since its inception in 2011. They do it by picking up leftover food from stores, restaurants and schools, and delivering it to pantries and shelters.
For more information on Food Rescue, click here or email Haley@foodrescue.
Haley Schulman, at the Westport Rotary Club.
==============================================
It may be late to feature a great blue heron in our “Westport … Naturally” feature.
But this guy hasn’t yet flown south, from his perch on the Saugatuck River.
(Photo/Johanna Keyser Rossi)
Hurry up, dude. It will be winter before you know it!
Each was special, in its own way. All were impressive. The result was a very successful first-ever “Historic Homes of 06880” house tour.
Annette Norton’s small 1700s home on North Avenue was a great attraction for the many residents who drive by often, admire her exterior renovation, and wonder what’s inside.
Annette Norton (left) shows guests the original fireplace, with a mantel she found in upstate Connecticut. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Mark Yurkiw and Wendy Van Wie’s barn is a 2-story, wide-open, wood-paneled delight that includes Mark’s artwork treasures in every corner.
A view of the Cross Highway barn, from the 2nd-floor landing. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Matt Burrows and Amy Gay surprised visitors to their 1742 home, also on Cross Highway. The exterior is a faithful restoration of a well-known, once-dilapidated property, while the interior is very modern, beautifully designed (by the owners), and open.
Matt Burrows (right) shows off the open floor plan he designed for his home. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Julia Gross and Mark Lamensdorf’s property on Old Hill Road delights at every turn, from original wooden beams and a formidable stone basement, to an old outhouse (now shed) in the back that “seats 3.”
The original door and beams in the original kitchen on Old Hill Road. (Photo/Amy Saperstein)
KMS Team at Compass co-sponsored the event. Karen Scott, Laurie Morris, Michael Mombello, Susan Seath and Karen Hagen were superb docents.
“06880” board members Amy Saperstein, Bill Scheffler and John Dodig (and his husband Rodger Lawrence) assisted, with help from Staples’ Service League of Boys.
“06880” often reports on Westporters who restore — rather than tear down — some of our oldest homes. Yesterday, readers went behind the scenes, to experience 4 of the homes they’d only read about before.
=================================================
Speaking of restored homes: Here’s another shot of the continuing work being done at 44 Compo Cove, perhaps the most photographed house in Westport.
For the second weekend out of three, the feared “traffic-geddon” generated by the I-95 Saugatuck Avenue bridge replacement project was largely avoided.
Traffic flowed smoothly — well, as smoothly as our “new normal” on Friday night, all day Saturday, Sunday morning, and early Sunday afternoon.
Then — for the second Sunday afternoon out of 3 — Westport was suddenly gridlocked.
Just like 2 weeks ago, traffic materialized out of nowhere. And it was everywhere.
Saugatuck — and feeder arteries like Greens Farms Road and Bridge Street — were jammed.
A line of cars and trucks extended from the North Kings Highway/Wilton Road light, all the way past Hudson Malone.
And the stretch from Parker Harding Plaza to the Post Road/Riverside Avenue/Wilton Road cluster**** was as bad as its ever been.
Some drivers waited patiently. Others devised new maneuvers to try to gain an edge, creating (of course) further chaos.
The state Department of Transportation once again completed the “bridge slide” portion of the project ahead of schedule.
The southbound span of I-95 was open around 4:30 p.m. But traffic continued for quite a while on the mean streets of Westport.
“It defies logic,” says Dan Vener, who took this photo of I-95 traffic, while stuck in the ground-level jam:
(Photo/Dan Vener)
Meanwhile, for a fascinating time-lapse version of the “bridge slide” — from 6 p.m. Friday to 9 a.m. Sunday — click below:
Jon Gailmor — the beloved Vermont musical icon — returned to his Westport home town yesterday, for a sold-out show at the VFW.
The 1966 Staples graduate was joined by a few talented friends: former classmates Rob Carlson (his singing partner from the 1970s) and Roger Kaufman, plus Suzanne Sheridan, the producer of the popular “First Folk Sunday” series.
It was a trip back to a magical musical time.
And just perfect for these days, too.
From left: Jon Gailmor, Roger Kaufman, Suzanne Sheridan, Rob Carlson. (Photo/Pam Washburn)
The Westport Arts Advisory Committee sponsored its annual TEA (Thinkers, Educators, Artists) Talk at the Westport Library.
A crowd of 150 people heard experts — including Emmy- and Grammy Award-winning 1971 Staples grad Brian Keane, town-wide K-12 arts coordinator Steve Zimmerman, and artist/arts consultant Liz Leggett — discuss “What’s Next for the Arts?,” as it faces challenges from artificial intelligence.
Topics included whether or not AI poses an existential risk to the arts; the role of education; the pure joy of making art, and — intriguingly — how we decide what is real, not real, and “authentic.” Does, in fact, “authentic” matter at all?
Panelists used AI tools to create illustration and art, using prompts from attendees. Artists showed traditional techniques.
There was a lot to think about.
And every comment was generated by humans.
Panelists — each under their photo — at yesterday’s TEA Talk.
Field Trip jerky — the very popular producer of healthy, protein-rich snacks ranging from beef, chicken, turkey and pork to jalapeño, cracked pepper and everything bagel — is headquartered in downtown Westport.
But it reaches all over the country.
Literally.
The other day, Bruce Miller and his wife were in Alaska. On a tour of Denali National Park, guests received a snack box.
Inside was a Field Trip Cracked Pepper Turkey Stick.
“We traveled 4,400 miles from home to enjoy a local treat!” he says.
You don’t have to go to The Last Frontier.
Field Trip is sold at retailers like Stop & Shop and CVS.
And in their only retail outlet, next to their Post Road offices opposite Design Within Reach.
=================================================
Artists Collective of Westport member Maj Kalfus’ work is featured at the Weston Senior Center, through the end of December. Her 30 pieces include oil paintings, collage, brush and ink, graphite, digital art and drawings from life.
A reception is set for November 16 (6 to 8 p.m.). Kalfus teaches at the Westport Senior Center. Her portrait of Ella Fitzgerald was featured at the recent Westport Country Playhouse tribute to the jazz singer.
As we head into mid-fall — with winter not too far away — this is the “Westport … Naturally” scene from Ellen Wentworth’s living room:
(Photo/Ellen Wentworth)
=================================================
And finally … in honor of our great “Historic Homes of 06880” tour (story above):
(A lot went on this weekend — and, as always, “06880” previewed, and now reviews, it. If you enjoy our hyper-local coverage, please consider a contribution. Click here — and thank you!)
Tonight is the night we turn our clocks back one hour, to “standard time.” (Though with Daylight Savings Time now in place for nearly 8 months, isn’t that the “standard”?)
The good news: We get an extra hour of sleep.
The bad news: We get an extra hour of all that “traffic-gedddon,” during the I-95 bridge slide.
==============================================
Speaking of this weekend’s bridgework, here’s a photo from this morning:
From now through December 21, then starting again after midterms in January, the Westport Library is teaming with Staples High School students on a “near-peer” tutoring program.
The program — held in the Children’s Library — features Staples students tutoring middle school and elementary schoolers in subjects including English, math, science, social studies, programming and Mandarin
The drop-in program runs between 4 and 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Tutor availability is posted weekly. Click here for the schedule.
All tutors are past participants, or received a letter of recommendation from a current or previous teacher.
Adults with students under the age of 12 must stay in the Children’s Library during the session.
==============================================
Thanksgiving is less than 3 weeks away. Pie time!
Wakeman Town Farm’s 4th annual Pie Sale is on. They’ve partnered with Earth Animal’s Mitten project initiative, to raise funds for Connecticut Food Share.
Oronoque Farms is baking apple and blueberry pies (traditional and crumb; served at room temperature or slightly warmed), as well as Pumpkin Pies (frozen and ready to bake; instructions provided).
Orders close November 17. Pick-ups are Tuesday, November 21 (4 to 7 p.m., Wakeman Town Farm). Click here to order, and for more information.
Blueberry crumb pie.
==============================================
Westport Transit District director Peter Gold reminds residents:
Many people know about the Westport Transit District’s Wheels2U service from their front door to the Westport and Greens Farms train stations. Less well known are services for the elderly and people with a disability.
The WTD provides an in-town service for the elderly and people with a disability, and a town-to-town service for people with a disability. Like Wheels2U, both services use handicap accessible vans.
The in-town service takes anyone with a disability, and anyone age 65 or over (whether or not they have a disability), anywhere within Westport, for $3.50. Rides must be booked a day in advance. Personal care assistants accompanying an elderly passenger or a passenger with a disability ride free.
The town-to-town service takes anyone with a disability to destinations in Norwalk, Wilton, Weston, New Canaan, Darien, Stamford and Greenwich. The fare is $3.50 each time a town border is crossed. (For example, a ride within Westport is $3.50; a ride to Darien is $10.50). Again, personal care assistants accompanying a passenger with a disability ride free.
Click here for more information, including how to book and pay for rides. Click here for information on Wheels2U.
Dionne Pia is the Westport Book Shop’s guest exhibitor for November. She exhibits 2 large-school paintings: “Brave New World” and “Galaxy.”
She earned a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. She also studied Russian icon painting, and landscape graphics. Dionne is a member of the Artists Collective of Westport. Her work has been exhibited in many shows throughout Connecticut.
Sustainable Westport’s second Residential Energy Learning series focuses on solar energy. “Everything Solar” is set for the Westport Library on November 7 (6:30 p.m., reception, 6:45 presentation and Q-and-A).
Westport architect John Rountree and Nathan Hernandez, solar consultant, will discuss how to transition your home or business to solar energy. They’ll cover solar panels, installation companies, design considerations, the expected ROI, and financing options (with federal and state incentives).
Westporter Dan Schlesinger will talk about his recent process of going solar.
Rodolfo Soto returns to the Westport Country Playhouse.
=================================================
It’s the lecture you’ve been waiting for!
Westport Astronomical Society’s free online lecture series continues November 21 (8 p.m.) with Dr. Slava Turyshev. The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory research scientist will discuss “Imaging and Spectroscopy of Exoplanets Using Solar Gravitational Lensing.”
(Hmmm … what to do with those extra 60 minutes? So many possibilities … including making a donation to “06880.” It’s easy — just click here. Thank you very much!)
“Aragosta, Maine” — oil on canvas (Werner Liepolt)
“Pinckney Park, Rowayton” (Jo Ann Davidson)
“Did You Forget to Celebrate Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)- Again?” Pencil and watercolor artist Steve Stein says, “The holiday dating from pre-Hispanic Central America falls every year on November 1 and 2. It is believed that the spirits of departed ancestors return home to spend time with their relatives in a celebration of both the life and death of family.”
“It’s a Stretch” (Lawrence Weisman)
“Scary Yarn! Eeeek!” (Mike Hibbard)
“On a Windy Hill by the Transfer Station” (Peter Barlow)
(Entrance is free to our online art gallery. But please consider a donation! Just click here — and thank you!)
Sustainable Westport — the town’s non-profit advisory environmental committee — recently surveyed all candidates running for the Representative Town Meeting, Board of Education, Board of Finance and Planning & Zoning Commission.
36% of candidates responded. Click here to view their answers.
===============================================
Last weekend’s first “bridge slide” — replacement of the I-95 Saugatuck Avenue bridge, with resultant closures and diversions of the highway — went smoothly.
Until Sunday afternoon.
The second (and final) slide is set for next weekend. It begins at 8 p.m. Friday, November 3, and is scheduled to end at 6 a.m. Monday, November 6.
Last weekend’s work ended sooner than expected. Fingers crossed …
On Wednesday (November 1, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall auditorium), the Board of Finance holds a public meeting.
Most items are routine: financial reports, status updates, appropriation requests.
Tucked into the agenda — #4, of 8 items — is “Long Lots Building Project (Discussion only).”
The meeting will be livestreamed at www.westportct.gov. Meeting materials will be available there too.
The Board of Finance will discuss the Long Lots Elementary School project on Wednesday. It faces further review from other town bodies too.
=================================================
Wednesday’s Roundup included a plea from a reader to golfers to stop chipping balls into water. She recently fished over 100 out of Long Island Sound, at Burying Hill Beach.
Yesterday brought a different kind of fish to the same beach.
Three baby sharks washed ashore. Nicholas Eisenberger — who sent along this photo from his Greens Farms neighbor, Margaret Schwabe — wonders if this is very normal, somewhat normal, or quite unusual.
Marine biologists: Click “Comments” below!
Sharks, at Burying Hill Beach. (Photo/Margaret Schwabe)
The Westport Farmers’ Market is all about healthy eating.
As part of their mission, next Thursday’s market (November 2, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Imperial Avenue parking lot) includes a Health & Wellness event.
Dharma Massage will discuss the value of massage, and provide 10-minute chair sessions. Zion Physical Therapy will teach shoppers proper stretching plans. Pause + Purpose has teamed up with GWell to offer Gu Shaw treatments, and will speak to the benefits of meditation.
In addition, Mae Farrell — head of WFM’s”Get Growing” program — will show attendees — including children — how to make healing bath salts.
And nutrition and recipe expert Terry Walters will share recipes and answer questions on how to best nurture bodies with healthy food.
All that is in addition to the usual vendors — and healthy food.
===============================================
Three new exhibits have been unveiled at the Westport Library.
Suzanne Benton’s “All About Color” is featured in the Sheffer Gallery. Norm Siegel’s “Visual Curiosities” is in the South Gallery, while “Showtime!” — a series of selections from the Westport Public Art Collections — can be seen in the Jesup Gallery.
With rain predicted tomorrow, La Plage has postponed its Patio Closing party.
The Inn at Longshore restaurant begins winter hours this week. They’ll be open Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. They’re closed Monday and Tuesday, through April.
Beginning Wednesday (November 1), they’ll offer a 5-course tasting menu for $85. A wine pairing menu will also be available.
(Where else but “06880” can you learn where candidates stand on the environment, AND be warned about sharks? Please click here to help us continue covering all this stuff. Thank you!)
Posted onOctober 28, 2023|Comments Off on Online Art Gallery #185
Good morning! Our gallery is open.
Come on in … and please submit your work, too.
We welcome all kinds of art. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, lithographs, collages, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage, needlepoint — whatever you’ve got.
Email it to 06880blog@gmail.com. Share your work with the world! (PS: Please include the medium you’re working in — art lovers want to know.)
Age, level of experience, subject matter — there are no restrictions. Everyone is invited (no, urged) to contribute.
“🙏🏼peace” — Artist Dorothy Robertshaw says, “A tear and 🙏🏼 💙praying for hope and peace in this world 🌎💙”
“The 18 x 22 Bug Painting” — colored ink and black enamel. Artist Peter Barlow says, “The painting is displayed on our porch every Halloween, where this street gets over 400 kids. The rest of the year it is at the top of the cellar stairs.”
“Psychedelic Bison” — acrylic painting. Artist Michael Cohen says this was inspired by a recent trip to Yellowstone National Park.
“Hope Springs” — acrylic, oil pasted and acrylic markers on canvas board (Valerie Fishcel)
Untitled (Tom Doran)
Untitled — acrylic painting (Lis Hisgen)
“Early Morning” — digital abstract. Artist Ken Runkel explains, “This is a contemporary interpretation of several early 20th century Cubist artists. The sunrise is about to crest the horizon against the early morning sky, and is reflected in the foreground of a suggested body of water. As with all abstracts. the viewer is encouraged to see and create their own narrative. My primary goal is to strike an emotional chord…to create a feeling with my work.”
“Lobster Landing” — Clinton, Connecticut, watercolor and pen (Kevin McCaul)
“Sunny Sides” (Mike Hibbard)
“Flat Out” (Lawrence Weisman)
“Let’s Dress Up as Dogs!” — pencil and watercolor (Steve Stein)
(Entrance is free to our online art gallery. But please consider a donation! Just click here — and thank you!)
A week from tomorrow, Westporters have a chance to look back in history.
Or forward, to a very uncertain future.
Sunday, November 5 (2 to 5 p.m.) is the day for our “Historic Homes of 06880” house tour. It features 4 great properties, all from the 1700s: 6 Old Hill Road, 39 Cross Highway, 190 Cross Highway, and 29 North Avenue. Click here for details.
But this story isn’t about that.
November 5 is also the day for Westport’s annual TEA Talk (2 p.m., Westport Library).
The acronym stands for Thinkers, Educators and Artists. Sponsored by theWestport Arts Advisory Committee, and based on the one-letter-off TED Talks, it’s a chance for artists to discuss and demonstrate the role of technology in a variety of artistic disciplines.
This year, a panel of experts will use live and interactive demonstrations to explore the impact of artificial intelligence on arts education, music and art. The title is: “What’s Next for the Arts?”
The TEA Talk features a diverse, “A” list of panelists.
Brian Keane in his home studio.
Brian Keane is a 1971 Staples High School graduate, and Emmy- and Grammy-winning composer/musician. He has composed music for hundreds of films and television shows, working with directors like Ken Burns, and produced over 100 albums.
He is leasing thousands of his compositions in a computerized music library to major entertainment companies, utilizing AI for metadata searches.
Steve Zimmerman is the Westport Public Schools K-12 arts coordinator. He faces daily challenges creating curriculum that respects art making, with the abundant available AI resources
Liz Leggett is an artist and arts consultant. She currently advises a tech company experimenting with AI-generated art, design and architecture.
“Robot Painting at an Easel” (Prompt by Eric Griffith; Generated on Midjourney)
“As AI becomes more prevalent in everything we do, there are questions we must answer,” says Shobana Mani, moderator of the panel and WAAC co-chair. “Does AI pose an existential risk to arts makers? And how does AI affect the ‘process’ of making art?”
Panelists will discuss those questions, and many more.
An audience Q-and-Q (and refreshments) will follow the TEA Talk. Admission is free. Click here to register.
(All “06880” stories are certified created by human beings, not AI. To support our people-produced blog, please click here. Thank you!)
The other day, Cecily Anderson saw a social media post asking for illustrations of “Westport things.”
Inspired, she quickly came up with a list of possible subjects.
Then she went to work.
“I didn’t try to exclude anything or anyone,” Cecily says. “This was just stream of consciousness.”
Cecily is an artist-educator. She’s worked at Bedford Middle School since 2002. In 2013, she was named Westport’s Teacher of the Year. She moved to Westport in 2018.
Cecily is multi-talented. She sings soprano with the Fairfield County Chorale, and leads her daughter’s Webelo troop.
Four photos from her series “Domesticated” are currently yfeatured at Silvermine Art Gallery. Yesterday, she presented an artist talk there.
This morning, enjoy Cecily’s great, diverse bunch of Westport places and “things.”
But if you were going to create your own — assuming you have Cecily’s talent and eye — what else would you include? Click “Comments” below.
(“06880” is your source for all “things” Westport. But we rely on reader support to do it all. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)
Click here to help support “06880” via credit card or PayPal. Any amount is welcome, appreciated — and tax-deductible! Reader contributions keep this blog going. (Alternate methods: Please send a check to “06880”: PO Box 744, Westport, CT 06881. Or use Venmo: @blog06880. Or Zelle: dwoog@optonline.net. Thanks!)
GET THE “06880” APP
The “06880” app (search for it on the Apple or Android store) is the easiest way to get “06880.” Choose notifications: whenever a new post is published, or once or twice a day. Click here for details.
